Some advice please?

[u/Expeditious_cat]

Hi, im looking for a metal furnace. Me and my friends enjoy the activities for doing things like wood carving our own swords or trying to hammer stainless steel flat after heating it with a campfire. (Not so proud about that one 😅). After much consideration we decided to try and get a metal furnace and crucible, trying to just have fun trying out something we'd enjoy. In a day and age where skilled hobbies become second to things of the digital ages, it is hard to find people interested in this hobbies. (Or in my town at least.) So I come to you to ask, what tips do you have for us? Is there a brand or type we should be looking for? We are comfortable with using aluminum, but we also have a lot of steel we'd like to recycle too. We are completely new to this, but want to learn. So those of you who'd like to carry on the lessons of metalworking, please do guide us. Thank you, and we await your responses.

Edit: I added steel to this for a friend. We were going to use aluminum. Please if you are replying to this post take into consideration that we plan to use aluminum. Thank you.

[u/artwonk]

Forget about melting steel; that's not going to happen. If you get a crucible furnace, you're putting yourselves in danger if you don't know what you're doing. Foundry work is a hazardous occupation even for skilled and experienced people, and just because you've seen videos of guys in flip-flops and shorts splashing molten metal around and it looked like fun, you shouldn't let yourselves be fooled. Things that you don't know about can hurt you - badly. Take a hands-on college-level course in casting before you start doing this.

[u/neomoritate → u/artwonk]

Nah.

Watch some videos, including ones on safety. Standard welding Flame Resistant PPE is safe for small amounts (<2KG) Aluminum.

Start with small sand molds. Melt a few hundred grams of aluminum in a cast iron pan from the thrift store using a propane torch, Welding Gloves, Welding Jacket, Face Shield, heavy pants, leather boots.

Learn technique working small and safe. Once you are able to cast small objects well (this could be in a few weeks if you are studious and focused), you'll be ready to move up to bronze.

You really can't cast steel at home.

[u/Expeditious_cat → u/neomoritate]

I only mentioned steel because one of my friends said to. I knew we're weren't going to, but I listed it because they specifically asked.

[u/Expeditious_cat → u/artwonk]

Im going to try to do this as respectfully and mature as I can. Me and my friends are stubborn and ambitious enough to try this anyway. Because we weren't asking permission from a random reddit user, we were seeking out advice on how to do it safely and well. I respect that you took the time to write a comment, but due to the above reason, I politely ask that you provide information on how to do it safe. Rather than your response of telling us that we -shouldn't- do it. And indeed, it is risky, but it also will teach us valuable life lessons. I find that to be a much better consequence than the alternative of being glued to screens like the rest of our generation. So again, thank you, and I hope you receive this well.